A Kid’s Guide to Drawing the Presidents of the USA

Would you like to draw your way through American History?  Timberdoodle Co. is featuring a series of 42 books entitled A Kid’s Guide to Drawing the Presidents of the USA covering every president from George Washington to George W. Bush. Each library-bound book features biographical information about each president and step-by-step instructions for drawing the presidents and important events of the time. This set is available for a limited time with a discount of over 80% off of the list price!

We received  How to Draw the Life and Times of William McKinley to review.  Each page of text is followed by a page of drawing instruction.

The large print text summarizes the highlights of McKinley’s life. I found the sentences to be short and choppy. If you wanted your child to read a brief biography, this would do the trick, as plenty of information is included. However, I don’t think this is something my child would pick up for fun. It was factual, but just not terribly interesting. Here is a typical passage: 

“….at the time Cuba was fighting Spain for independence. McKinley did not want to get involved. He was forced to take action when Spain was accused of blowing up the U.S. battleship Maine, shown above, which was in the harbor of Havana, Cuba. On April 25, 1898, the United Sates went to war with Spain.” (You might notice that this particular passage was also missing a couple of commas.)

I must note that, despite my observations about the writing style, Emily said that she “loves!” the book.

The drawing lessons, however, were excellent and very enjoyable. This particular volume teaches the student to draw the Maine, a carnation, McKinley and his wife, his “full dinner pail” campaign button, a “gerrymander” cartoon, and more. Each drawing included step-by-step instructions that are probably appropriate for children ages 9 and up.

Emily and I both followed the instructions—Here are our finished drawings.

This series might be just what you are looking for to supplement your history curriculum or art curriculum. I know that we will enjoy continuing to use this volume.

As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.